Last night I had the distinct displeasure of working with an uke that was hell bent on (I believe) proving that aikido doesn't work or MY aikido doesn't work. This fellow is roughly 2 inches taller than me, but in much better shape and much stronger. While practicing ushiro arts he would grip my arms as hard as possible (hard enough I still feel it now, the morning after) and lift up. I could not get my hands in front of me for anything. His reasoning was that if done correctly it wouldn't matter how strong or weak I was I would be able to finish the technique. (Probably true, however, I'm a 6th kyu that still trying to figure out where my feet need to be, among other things. He is also 6th kyu with less hours than me.) My retort to that was that it would never reach that level of grip in reality, because I'm not going to stand there while he torques down, he says...blah blah blah. You get the idea. Anyhow, after a few tries we switch and he wants me to hold with the force he was using on me. Now folks, believe me I wanted to, problem is I'm pretty out of shape, which caused jackball to question my manhood. Basically I felt this whole thing was a challenge, and part of the reason I started aikido was to help control my wicked temper. I could tell I was ready to snap so I made up a story and left class. I figured it was better to bow out early than to start using the street and wrestling "arts" that I actually do know. I'm still fuming and frustrated over this whole situation. Not sure if I did the right thing. Part of the rest of the problem is nobody else want to work with this guy, so because I'm newer to the dojo, a lot of times I'm still looking for a partner after everyone has run from him. I don't believe I'm a big (good?) enough person to continue to work with the guy without losing my temper. But I'm not about to quit aikido because of him. Sorry, about ranting, just needed to get this off my chest, I guess I'm still upset by allowing someone else to get me so worked up I didn't get to enjoy training, something I've come to look forward to every mon and thurs. Any ideas, comments? Oh yes, I plan on saying something to sensei when I more calm.

Thanks!
Mike

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. - Sun Tzu